The importance of parametrial lymph nodes in the treatment of cervical cancer.

This study aimed to determine the presence, distribution, and metastatic involvement of lymph nodes in the parametria of patients undergoing radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. Parametrial nodes were present in the giant sections of 280 (78%) of 359 surgical specimens, and metastatically involved nodes were found in 63 (22.5%) of these 280. Both positive and negative nodes were distributed through the entire parametrium. The frequency of positive nodes was linearly associated with both the clinical stage and with the tumor volume. The recurrence rate was higher when the parametrial nodes were positive than when they were negative. Survival dropped when the parametrial nodes were positive, regardless of the clinical stage.